Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Is Zsa Zsa Moving House?

The celebrity gossip juggernaut TMZ reported today that agéd and severely compromised Hungarian-American siren ZsaZsaGabor may soon make a move from her long-time residence in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles to a much smaller and more affordable condo. Or so says her controversial and famously eccentric 9thhuzband.

Since 1986 MizGabor has been married to a kooky and much younger 7-times-married German-born character who flits around around town calling himself Frédéric Prinz vonAnhalt. The Prince, a publicity seeking ball of bizarre, became tabloid catnip during the summer of 2007 when he called the Bev Hills popo to report that his Rolls Royce was overtaken by three attractive woman who handcuffed and held him up at gunpoint. When the police arrive, the Prince was found, san handcuff, sitting in his car in his damn birthday suit. That's right, beehawtcha was bare-ass naked with some cockamamie story about the ladee-robbers stealing his clothes. Have mercy, pleeze.

The Prince is not, it should be noted, a royal of any sort by blood but rather was adopted as an adult by a German princess. The circumstances of said adoption have been much speculated about in fine drawing rooms and tawdry gossip glossies around the world. Their married life has been far from calm and filled with litigious events. However, along the way MizGabor and the Prince adopted several adult men. Why? We'll leave y'all to ruminate and speculate on such things

Anyhoodles poodles, sketchy ol' Freddy told TMZ that the plan is to pack ZsaZsa's prosthesis–the 94 year old eccentric grand dame has been partially paralyzed since a 2002 car accident and recently had her right leg removed–and move to a $1.5 million condo in Westwood.

The couple current crib in Bel Air was built by billionaire Howard Hughes and later owned by Elvis Presley who sold the estate to MizGabor in 1974. The "Prince" told TMZ that the house has 8,000 square feet and 26 rooms while the Los Angeles County Tax Man show the mansion measures 6,647 square feet and includes 4 bedrooms and 5 poopers. Since the Prince is well-known to speak hyperbole out of his back side, we're inclined to believe the Tax Man over anything he says.

The peeps at TMZ report that the property will be listed at $25-28 million, which sounds like a pretty optimistic number to Your Mama. Then again we don't know a ball of string from a cluster of grapes and maybe that's a perfectly reasonable number. We'll let all the Platinum Triangle property purveyors duke that one out.

A gated and curving drive climbs the hillside to a motor court in front of a Hollywood Regency-style residence choked by landscaping that looks like it could use a bit more thinning. Out back, red awnings shade the windows and ornate balusters enclose upper level terraces that offer city lights views. The pill-shaped swimming pool has a basket weave pattern brick terrace and a myriad of potted rose bushes and statuary that make Your Mama squeamish.

Someone we know who was inside the house many years ago says it was tastefully decorated in a old-school but down at the heels Hollywood style. We'd chop off a toe for a private tour of the house so Prince Freddy, give Your Mama a note on the email iffin you want to do a tour and brief interview about the house, okay?

It might surprise Mama and the children to know that Rabbi Hedda LaTess is a Gabor fan! Zsa Zsa, Eva, and Magda, along with their mother, Jolie, emigrated individually to a new country, much as did Rabbi LaTess' grandparents, and maneuvered through the misogynistic 40s, 50s, and 60s to achieve success through their innate and cultivated abilities, and dare I say talents?

Jolie ran a lucrative jewelery business in New York, Magda was a method actress, Eva had a marvelous sense of comedic timing, and Zsa Zsa could work a room and marry like nobody's business, even if she did exhibit teensy weensy symptoms of a personality disorder not otherwise specified. The Gabors all gave tzedakah (charity) generously. In her later years, Eva habituated Green Acres Shopping Center. And do the children know that Zsa Zsa is the great aunt of Paris Hilton?

The maternal grandparents were Jewish and perished in World War II during the bombing of a Swiss ligation center, while speculation exists that the paternal grandparents converted from Judaism to escape anti-Semitism.

I'm not sure what this has to do with real estate; however, I wish dear Zsa Zsa quality of life and peace during her autumn years. As for the "prince," I agree with Anonymous 12:16 p.m.

The "prince" is attempting the fiscal abuse of Zsa Zsa via the placement of HER house on the market. Do any of the children know the telephone number to the Los Angeles County Department of Adult Protective Services?

If she hasn't left him the house in her will, any cash generated from selling it while she's still alive will convert it to community property. Zsa Zsa might be married to a golddigger, dahlings. Gee, ya think?

R. Hedda; This was a great tribute. I have found it troubling that this poor old fossil is not being allowed to live out her life without the world being kept abreast of her most recent health problems. I guess that is the final price of celebrity. The facade of this house is a real nostalgia image of what the rest of the country thought star "mansions" looked like from the tour bus.

Overpriced. The exterior looks worn, tarnished & in need of repainting (at the very least), and no pictures of the interior...hmm, suspicious. $25-28 million is a joke, the house isn't even in the best part of Bel-Air (at the very north end of the best part of Bel-Air at best). Probably a tear-down.

OMG, I had totally forgotten about t"the prince" saying he was the "baby daddy of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter." What a nut case he must be. The exterior of the house is quite fugly--hard to believe Howard Huges built it--not so hard to believe Elvis Presly once owned it.

I quite like the exterior (all that is shown), elegant in a somewhat rococo way. Was there not a detailed story on her in Vanity Fair recently? I recall it saying the number of her husbands was in dispute and that everything about her past fluctuates uncertainly between true and false so that one can't be sure of much of anything. Great beauties who want to be remembered as such should conk out early, like Princess Di. Growing old is not for them.

Mama, I'll drive us up BA Road to see this house if you can get us in. You see, I have a soft spot for both Zsa Zsa and the late Eva. I've met them, they were kind to me, and they were exactly the way I expected them to be --- "dahling" and all the associated glamor. I was in the 5th grade the first time I met Zsa Zsa, and I asked her if she'd send me a signed photo. Two days later, one arrived! It's great: she's standing next to a Rolls-Royce all Zsa Zsa'd out. Fabulous, and I rarely use the "F" word.

I agree with anon 5:28 - definitely overpriced, probably by about $20-million; I'd guess it will probably sell for between $5 & 8 million, partly on lot value and partly on its history of ownership. From what I've heard & read over the years, the place is somewhat neglected and in serious need of major renovations.

Yeah, adopted several adult men. I look forward to reading up on that one.

Is this house listed, or as i suspect, simply "listed" with TMZ?

At this point in Zsa Zsa's decline, it seems most unlikely that she'll be moving anywhere but a nursing home, hospital or crypt at Forest Lawn (to be blunt about it).

Whether or not, the prince (note the small "p") has actually consulted a broker about list price, whether or not he even has the power to sell this house, who knows? But regardless, he would seem to be about 22m off (that would be off high) on a realistic sale price, as someone above noted.

k, two things i just realized i detest: YELLOW HOUSE PAINT of any sort, hue, tone or wash. BRICK PATIOS, i am not interested in baking my feet like a couple of petite pan pizzas from spago. AND PATIO FURNITURE! peeyooo! That is the saddest house in Hollywood and i mean that LITERALLY. :( Hopefully Lady Zsa Zsa will get to spend the rest of her days in a nice, bright condo being waited on like the diva she is SUPPOSED to be treated like!! LOVE U ZSA ZSA!

So the Prinz is basically her caretaker. He used to spend most of his early evenings at 24 Hour Fitness in West Hollywood looking at all the gays and their dangly bits. This might explain the adult men.The house is actually tastefully painted and such, though filled with lots of tired furniture and paintings, which would go with the owners anyway, I assume. Probably plenty of renovating to be done and $28 million is off by at least $20 million, likely more.

Together with Gabor, Mr. Prinz von Anhalt has adopted several men. Among them are: Marcus Prinz von Anhalt (formerly known as Marcus Eberhardt), who refers to himself as "Prince Germany"; Oliver Prinz von Anhalt (formerly known as Oliver Bendig); Michael Prinz von Anhalt (formerly known as Michael Killer) as well as Markus Maximilian Prinz von Anhalt. Following the adoption, these men are entitled to use the last name of "Prinz von Anhalt". German newspapers have speculated that Frédéric is effectively selling the name, which would be a criminal offence in Germany and render the adoptions, which were made under German law, invalid.[from Wikipedia]

I remember working at the Hotel Del Coronado in the early 90's and seeing Zsa Zsa strolling through the lobby. She headed up to her room and then called down to the front desk to complain that there were no flowers in her room. Though none had been scheduled to be placed in there, naturally, we sent some up immediately, as well as a huge fruit basket, chocolate covered strawberries and champagne!